Crimson Tears revised
by Icylov3
Summary: After doing what she thought might have been the right thing, the fire senshi learns that fate doesn't take well to being toyed with.
1. Chapter 1

Ahhhhhhhh, here I am, with another rewrite to one of my many unfinished stories. Well, atleast I'm making an effort, right? So in this revised version of Crimson Tears, I believed I went more into Heero and Rei's relationship and I felt I described the situation alot better...but what the hell do I know.

Disclaimer: I don't own either Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing. That's quite obvious isn't it.

Heero walked aimlessly through the park, passing a group of protestor walking in the same direction. He brushed passed them with ease, ignoring a busty red haired that was trying to preach her cause. Words of disapproval could be heard from the group, but even so, Heero kept walking. It seemed that the park was empty today, besides the huge crowd that developed in the square. This was obviously a good chance for him to reflect on past missions and such. He would now be able to think on ways to improve himself while gaining fresh air and at the same time, remove himself from the tyranny of human life. As he continued to walk, the sounds of the crowds chanting dwindled and dwindled, until it disappeared all together. He found himself near the lake, where a huge oak tree rested just a few feet away from the benches that surrounded the clear, blue water. Sitting on one of the benches was someone who had unknowingly, wiggled her way into his life.

She was but a fallen image of her former self. Her hair that Heero found out to be long, soft and a vibrant mix of black and violet was now dull and straw like. Her soft skin that would shine whenever she smiled was now pale and looked clammy. Her attire, which she took so much pride in, was a great comparison to her usual self. Taking a step closer, Heero watched as the girl stared out into the lake, mouthing out something which could only be spoken to herself. It was so unlike her, it almost seemed unreal. The young man finished off the distance between the two with a few long strides and took a seat next to her. The closing of her mouth and the silence that surrounded the duo was the only indication that the girl had acknowledged his presence.

The young girl turned her head to look at Heero and forced a small smile. Her cheeks were lightly stained with a pinkish hue and the traces of a sleepless night were apparent in her dark amethyst colored eyes. Shakily she gripped both flaps of her jacket and pulled the leather tighter together. It was so odd seeing her dressed the way she was, anyone might have dub her as mentally ill. She wore sweat pants that hung off of her like sagging skin, boots that were only meant for the deep snowy mountains, a plain, heavy white sweater and a black leather. Her formed trembled as if a mighty force of cold were wrapped tightly around her bones and wouldn't let go. All he could do was stare at her, not knowing what to say to such bizarre behavior. It was the middle of summer and she looked as though she was preparing herself for a skiing trip. It was a complete about face, compared to the person he was interacting with less then two days ago.

"Aren't you cold?" Her hushed whispered question brought on more from Heero then she wanted. A simply nod wasn't what she got. Instead, he brought his hand to rest on her forehead, ignoring the drowsy glare she was sending him. He then took her wrist in his hand, causing the jacket to fall open. She let out a surprised grunt and quickly jerked her hand away. Scooting over to the other side of the bench, she curled away from him, like a scared child. Heero stood up without a word and pulled her up by her arm. For a few seconds they struggled with each other, but the young girl ultimately gave up and allowed him to drag her in the direction he originally came.

As they were walking, Heero once again found himself faced against the busty red haired protestor. She held a flyer up in his face, the words 'Stop the senseless killing' in big bright letters. The red head opened her mouth wide and began speaking, the group around her quieted down and eliminated anyway for him to leave without harming the dazed girl holding onto his sleeve.

"Soldiers are useless and unprogressive. They just offer more reasons for all the corrupted governments to create false pretenses to go to war. If we didn't have soldiers, then there wouldn't be anyone to fight the battles. If we stop signing up, if we rid our country of an army, if we take a stand…I know we can get rid of the oppressive hold that war has on us. I know w--"

"Absolutely nothing." All eyes turned on the inappropriately dressed teen that appeared to have had one to many drinks. She swayed back and forth, until she opted to rest her sweating body against Heero's shoulder. While the crowd mumbled and called out words that they thought described the girl, Heero began advancing towards an opening. Now the focus of everyone's anger, he was quickly denied escaped and was blocked by a rather large man sporting a white shirt with a broken gun on it.

"You're the one who knows absolutely nothing. In case you haven't notice, it's summer time and you dress down in the heat, not up." The red head snarled, matching Rei hazy stare with a challenging glare of her own. But, not being one to back down, the young girl pushed herself off of Heero and stood as tall as her wobbly body could. "And…it true, everything I say. If we don't have an army, then we would have to avoid all wars, therefore eliminating them. Any sane person would know that. Besides, the thought of war is just barbaric and anyone who would want to have any link with it is just as monstrous as a cold blooded killer."

"No… No, no, no! Soldiers aren't useless and unprogressive. They're the ones that make it possible for you to stand here in the safety of this park and practice your freedom of speech. They make it possible for you to feed these people all of this and then some. They're willing to sacrifice everything they hold dear in order to make sure that complete strangers are safe and sound. You shouldn't hate shoulders because they kill the enemy, because they do their job. You can't hate soldiers because they fix humans mistakes, because they choose to survive instead of giving up at the first sign of violence and giving into the enemies every demand. You call it senseless killing but I call it sense. Next time you get into a fight with a violent person, try talking it out. See how far it gets you. The other side doesn't care about peaceful logic; they just want to win. It's called human nature, you can't change it."

Everyone stood shocked at the girl's outburst. It was quite unexpected, considering the assumption the crowd made by the state of her dress. She was breathing heavily and staring the red head down eye to eye. Heero grabbed hold of her arm and forced his way out of the stunned crowd before more then a screaming match could occur.

* * *

By the time they made it to her apartment, it was dark and the temperature had seemed to rise. The pinkish hue that stained her cheeks had disappeared and no longer did she hold the dazed and confused look in her eyes. The elevator ride up was as it usually was, full of problems. The door wouldn't close at first and after four minutes of pressing the up button, the booth finally took off. The ride was slow and stuffy and the smelly area created more problems for their body then either wanted to admit. 

The young girl quickly rushed out of the elevator, coughing and breathing heavily as soon as it came to a stop. Heero simply walked past her, making his way over to a door that wasn't to far from where she was trying to catch her breath. On the door rested a white piece of paper. Taped on all four sides, the bright red letters read: Eviction Notices. He snatched the paper off of the door and turned to the scoffing female now standing behind him.

"It's hard paying for rent when you don't have any money. And it's hard to make money when you don't have a job." Heero nodded his head, knowing just where the girl was going with this. It appeared that due to earlier circumstances, his arrival at her work place, paired with his need to catch a certain person ended with the knocking down of a centerpiece and her being blamed for it. She yelled at him for it, screamed until she turned blue in the face. He was the selfish so and so that cared only for his self. She even went so far as to hit him, but that night ended with a gun being pointed at her and a burst of tears. He remember the day like it was yesterday, in fact it only happened two weeks ago. She began changing afterwards, presenting herself as someone with more then mere depression issues, even if she didn't notice it. Today was hopefully the icing on the cake, maybe now she would admit to having a problem.

Rei pushed Heero out the way, while pulling out her key to open the door. It was a simple key chain that consisted of the apartment key, her locker key from work, which she didn't return and a tiny chain shaped like a baseball. Rei pushed the iron piece into the hole and turned her wrist; the sound of a small click was enough to bring a smile on her face. Heero looked at her again; wondering why opening a door was such a happy moment in her life. But as he learned through all the time he spent with her, it was better to just go with things. Rei pushed open the door and walked in. Throwing the keys on the couch, she turned to Heero and smiled.

"It took me about an hour to get in the house yesterday. At first I thought I was using the wrong key, but then I finally realized that I was twisting the key the wrong way." She giggled as if the whole situation was a joke, but Heero shook his head and walked over to the refrigerator. How could it have taken someone an hour to realize a mistake that obvious? Suspicions of her sanity were starting to rise. Piercing prussian blue colored eyes scanned the empty appliance with a knowing glare. He slammed the white door closed and turned to the girl sitting on the couch.

She had taken off her jacket and her sweater as well. Her tank top was a light gray and hugged her scrawny form. It looked as though she had been chewing on the upper part of the strap that held the shirt on her shoulder. There was a hole in it and tiny strings hung from the stretchy fabric. Her feet, crossed at the ankle, rested atop a small table. One foot held a yellow sock with a blue bunny on the front. The other foot held a bright pink sock with a hole at the toe. Rei was wiggling her feet to a soundless tune, nodding her head in unison. Walking over to her, Heero sat on the couch and rested his head back.

"Did you eat breakfast?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Heero watched as she slowly shook her head and leaned back into the couch so her body slid forward. "What about dinner last night?"

"I wasn't hungry."

"Are you hungry now?" Rei shook her head after it seemed she had contemplated the thought for a minute. Heero simply nodded, not wanting to push the girl.

The two sat in silence, neither one looking as if they were trying to start a conversation. Heero would look at Rei every once in a while, but she continued to bob her head and wiggle her toes to an unknown beat. Her eyes remained focused to one point straight ahead, blinking only to water her drying orbs. Seconds passed by quickly, turning into minutes and minutes went by turning into hours. Still the duo sat in silence, staring at the paint chipped walls and the broke down furniture.

* * *

"Excuse me." Rei said standing up suddenly. Heero looked up at her and watched as she hurriedly made her way over to her room. After slamming the door closed, she was no longer in his sight. He sat there for awhile, staring at her door, trying to figure out just what happened. From all his experiences with female, each one varied, getting more colorful as they went…But his new found relationship with Hino took the cake. He knew she was depressed, he just didn't know how to help her. He knew she held a dark secret that was killing her inside, he just didn't want to know it. Everyday, it seemed like a part of her died. And every time Heero would meet her, he'd marked down the day when he would lose her company to the clutches of her depression. 

Rei stood by the door in the dimly lit room; her eyes focused on the scratched hard wood floor, which provided a resting-place for a lot of newspapers and magazines. She removed the torn tank top and pants, and tossed them to the side. Very slowly, she walked over to the bed with a blank look in her eyes. Had this been all her life was to amount to, go out to the park, stare at the lake, then come to an empty home and sulk. It all seemed like a bad dream, like this was a sick, cruel joke thought up for the Gods amusement. But she knew better then that, she knew that everything happened for a reason. Heero was outside, dong whatever it was that he did and she was here, confused, angry, sad, frustrated and the list could go on and on. The only way to end it all was to end her life, destroy her very existence. Now there was a thought…

A small smile spread across her lips as she sat on the bed and began swinging her feet back and forth. Since when did she start to take the easy way out? When did it become ok for her to give up on herself of all people? She had always been the one to make her own decision when presented with the chance, now she felt regret for all the things she had done in the past. All the people she had let down, all the friends she failed to make, all the things in life she had never tried to intertwine herself in was now on a quest to destroy her. It felt…miserable. Rei found herself smiling harder as the word filled her mind. She had felt hurt at times, maybe even alone, but never had miserable ever occurred to her. The people around her were miserable, or so she thought. The ones that came to the temple praying that the gods bless them with a winning game ticket were miserable. The ones that brought charms in hope of gaining intelligence over night were miserable. The ones that made wishes of love ringing their front door were miserable. Never the people who worked hard for what they had and didn't have to sacrifice their soul to do it, they weren't the miserable one. But as it stood, her own life was contradicting her. Maybe, just maybe, she was paying for the biggest mistake in her life and that was not living life as her friends had so slyly pointed out to her.

Lifting a shaky hand, she wiped her eyes before any liquid could spill on her cheeks. Her burning nose and blurry vision was a sure-fire hint to the accursed tears in which she had never hoped to shed. A tiny pain made it's way into her chest and she had to do something to occupy herself, keeping it from growing. Rei stood up on shaky legs and wobbled over to the dresser. She dropped to the floor and crossed her legs Indian style. Pulling out the bottom dresser, the young girl cut herself on a nail sticking out of the handle. She silently cursed under her breath, but continued with her task. Taking out a dark green camisole, she reluctantly pulled it over her head. It felt comfortable running around as she was, but Heero was in the other room and the outline of her ribs against her skin was a painful reminder of what she no longer was. Digging in the draw again, she pulled out a pair of black jeans. Rei stood up, a wave of dizziness overcoming her. But she quickly steadied herself and smoothly pulled the pants up her legs.

Things were going pretty good so far, all she had to do was change her footwear and be on her way. A soft smile claimed the thin line of her lips and Rei let out a sigh, finding the pain in her chest had disappeared.

"Who was it that said smiling was a great remedy for unhappiness?" The brunette whispered as she grabbed her jacket hanging on the door and walked out the room. The young man from earlier still sat on the couch, only now he was flipping through the thick black book she had lying on her coffee table. Rei looked at him and shrugged, never taking the stoic individual for the type whom indulged in religious studies. The Bible, although something she had never made priority to read, was handed to her by an co-worker and was the only thing she had that didn't remind her of failing or her lost family. Rei went to sit on a chair near her counter and pulled off her socks. She threw the chaotically paired feet warmers on the floor and slid into the white ones that were conveniently drying on her radiator. She glanced up to see Heero closing the book and placing it on the table. Turning back around, she kicked her old socks aside and stood up. She was now dressed properly and all she had to do was brush her hair. Rei chuckled to herself as she recalled how she looked when she went on her walk earlier. She could feel Heero staring at her and that only went to enforce the giddy feeling that overcame her once sadden self. Turning to his scanning eyes, she tilted her head to the side and raised a questioning look on her face.

"What?" She asked innocently after it looked as if the young man was not going to remove his unreadable stare from off her. She shook her head gently and made her way over to her bathroom. Taking one last look at Heero, she opened the door and slammed it shut.

* * *

A huge game was in the process of becoming bigger. The crowd, divided by color, cheered with ardency and confidences. Neither backed down from the winded yells meant to boost the morale of their respective teams and neither refused to let up on the boos and dejected words meant to bring down the esteem of the other. The loud roar of the crowd was intimidating, yet one couldn't deny the enchanting grace the barbaric action held. People sat at the edge of their seats, watching the flaxen haired knockout hit volleyballs. And even though this was a team sport, the sweat covered girl seemed to carrying the game all by herself. 

You couldn't call it hogging, because she passed the ball along and accepted any and every bit of help. But it was clear who the star of the game was. Her bright yellow hair swayed with each bouncing step she took and her shirt would rise every so often, giving everyone a peek at her nicely toned stomach. Fierce crystal blue eyes were set on the very ball itself, only slightly minding the team around her.

All ready in the lead, but wanting more, Juuban High's very own star player wanted so badly to crush the opposing team. She had her mind set on the thought and nothing was going to stop her. The score being nine to twenty-two, all they needed was one more point and they were going to win. The young star took her stance at the back of the rest of the girls, her eye on the one that would set it to her. The fierce determination that shone on her face showed everyone that they weren't to mess up.

The ball went over the net, it bounced off the front girl's fist and within the next second the crowd went wild. The gym was filled with more boos and cheers then it had been before. Juuban High had won the game. The chanting of the volleyball star's name began, as the team went around congratulating each other.

* * *

Rei woke up with a start. She wasn't in the square looking at the abandon flyers scattered around the cool pavement. There was no trees where she was at, there were no benches, there was no grass and there certainly wasn't a fountain or bird to be found. What made the situation worst, she wasn't out in the open air anymore, she was now laying in a twin size bed, wrapped up in a plain gray quilt. She quickly pushed the overbearing warmth away from her body, sweat already beading down her dizzy head. Once she was able to gain focus of the bare feet in front of her, Rei felt anxiety come upon her writhing self and hit her hard across the face. She clutched at the simple white fabric that hung off her skin as if it were to fall to pieces on her. This wasn't the clothes she had on before, nor was it even close to it. Rei continued to panic on her loss of ware, vaguely noticing that her bed was a bigger then she had remember. And as if the answer to all her mind-boggling questions had rushed down and was sitting right in front of her, Rei stiffen and stared straight ahead. 

Not only was she not in the park, she wasn't even in her own apartment. This wasn't her room. Her cracked and unpainted walls was now a clean off white and her old dirty wooden floors appeared to be a dark blue carpet. Her room now, was something entirely different. There was a closet, a desk and a chair and two doors that led to the hall and most likely a walk in closet. Compared to the room in her apartment that held these things, this was empty. She had much more, whether they were pictures from magazines or some of the things she had obtained from her previous dwelling. Even though she had little money and her apartment wasn't one of the proudest things she owned, she could honestly say it looked almost welcoming. But the room she was in now was bland and held a sense of hostility.

She had to make sure this was real, she had to make sure this wasn't just another trick her mind had developed to pay her back for the change in environment. Like the time she had felt like she was freezing in the middle of summer, or the time she thought she was drowning while washing the dishes in the kitchen sink. Her mind had slowly been turning on her and it wouldn't be long before it shut her out completely. Rei shook her head to stop such thoughts from making her cry out in misery. It was a pitiful life she was living and the more she dwelled on it, the harder it became for her to continue on.

Slowly she swung her legs off the bed and rubbed her small feet across the carpet. Lifting her thin hand, she tapped the alarm clock on the stand next to the bed. A smile graced her pink lips as a light shock flowed through her finger and tingled all over her hand. It wasn't much, but now she knew that she was wide-awake and wasn't dreaming. Looking over to the side, Rei's eyes glided over the chair near the desk. She could see a leather strap hanging off the seat and just on that inkling, she lifted herself from the bed and stumbled over to desk. She rested her heavy body against the wood and steel mix, while she lifted the strap to confirm her suspicions. The leather strap did belong to her pocketbook and a burst of relief washed over her. She allowed herself to slid into the chair so it would be easier for her to dig in the bag. After unzipping the zipper, she pulled out a couple of items and rested them on her lap. She took out a small red stick and placed it on the desk. Then she lifted a round disc like thing and examined it for any damage. When she was satisfied with the results, she pushed it back into the bag and continued her rummage. Everything else was still there, her lip-gloss, ID card, nail clipper, loose change and a stick of gum. So far things were looking good, now all she had to do was figure out where she was, find her clothes and then get out of there.

Rei walked slowly to one of the brown door, trying her hardest to keep herself steady and quiet. Although her wobbly limbs threatened to make her crash to the floor and create a sound that would surely give her away. Once she had reached the door, she opened it with caution and stepped in. She reached her hand up to the wall and cut on the light. Much to her relief and dismay, she had opened the door, not to a walk in closet, but the bathroom. She was glad it wasn't anything life endangering but a little disappointed that it was just a place to relieve yourself. With a shrug of her shoulders, Rei began to move around the fair sized room. As she walked over to the sink, her eyes caught sight of herself in the medicine cabinet's mirror. As she eyed her reflection, she couldn't help but reel back in shock. Her skin was a sickly pale, almost to the point of being colorless. Very softly, with a disbelieving tone, she dragged her fingers across her face. Had four walls shaded her for such a long time, that she had lost all pigment in her skin?

With a sigh, the young girl forced herself to repress the urge to stick her head out the window and bathe in the sun's rays. Instead of going to the extreme, she would continue to search out her surroundings. Rei opened the cabinet was a downcast look on her face. Inside she saw a big pack of Band-Aids, peroxide, alcohol, a couple of ace bandage, toothpaste, and other assortments of first aid paraphernalia. There was nothing out of the ordinary, so she closed the small compartment door and walked over to the bathtub. She picked up a bottle and read the label. It was nothing more then shampoo. Her nose wrinkled up at the lack of conditioner and the plainness of the bar of soap that rested not to far from the location of the shampoo. This person was probably danger prone, a likely fact considering all the medical supplies that was being stored in one room. And this person was definitely clean, just not an appearance fanatic. With a sigh, she turned on her heels and walked over to the exit. Shutting off the lights, she left the room and closed the door.

The moment she closed the door, she felt a presence moving towards her direction. Without a second thought, she practically leaped over to the chair and placed everything back to the way it was. Lifting the small red stick, she strode over to the bed and crawled back under the sheets. Turning to the side, she listened closely as the door opened and the muffled sounds of footsteps flopped across the floor. As much as she wanted to hold back, she couldn't stop the rumbling sound that erupted from her stomach. The delicious aroma that that presence had brought into the room seemed to have triggered her brain to react carelessly. After not eating for so long, her body was defiantly going for payback.

"Get up." The simple command was sent forth and Rei found herself responding obediently. When she sat up, she locked eyes with the last person she saw before her long sleep. Memories of the nightly stroll they had taken had brought on a slight pain in her chest.

_They had been in the park, where the protestors where, walking around and staring at the 'educational' litter. A dull feeling slowly settled in Rei's stomach as she kicked aside a sign that was resting on a tree. She stopped suddenly as the wood fell to the ground with a light boom. Even though the sound was so soft, she clutched at her ears as if the noise was a great big explosion. Heero looked up from his spot near a bench and watched as she corrected herself. She sighed in a frustrated manner and kicked the sign once more for bringing on such pain. Looking up, her eyes connected with Heero as he continued to stare at her._

"_What the hell are you looking at!" She had never been one to use fowl language and she hadn't really meant to yell at him. It just seemed that the longer she stayed here, the worse her character became. She growled slightly, unaware of how much her anger was growing, as she stood, still staring at his cold blue eye. They remained locked on hers, never wavering, not even when she mumbled something and stomped off. Even in the distance, she could feel him staring at her; it got to the point where she wanted so desperately to scream. _

_And scream she did when she came upon the mangled and bruised body of the busty redhead she had gotten into it with earlier. She was lying there with a smile on her face, her pale body covered with patches of blood. The sight should have been a blemish compared to some of the things she had seen throughout her life, but still, her body shook with a terrible force. _

_Rei gasped in shock when she felt a strong pair of arms gently pull her back, yet her eyes never left the nude girl. The pale skin of the dead woman shone glossy under the moonlight and her face was a haunting, mesmeric beauty while her arms was positioned over her head like a ballerina doing a twirl. Her back seemed to arch forward, pushing her pale breast up for all to see. Her torso was cut opened, her body's content slightly hanging out. Rei's eyes traveled down slowly, stopping at her thighs. Her legs…her legs were gone, cut off, lying neatly on a bench. It was a strange sick joke, it couldn't possible be real. _

_The young girl shook her head and jerk forcefully out of the hands that still gripped her arms. She began mumbling something, repeating the words to herself over and over again. Shaking her head again, hair flying wildly around her, Rei took off in a sprint, well aware of the tears that were pouring from her eyes. She cried. She shook. She collapsed. The faint memory of being lifted from the green grass played softly in her mind. _

"Eat." He commanded once more, this time placing the plate on her lap. She had mistakenly inhaled the wonderful smell filling the air and forgot about the scary thoughts that had forced its way back into her memory banks. With a reminder of how hungry she was, her stomach growled gently. Rei was more then happy to accept the plate being given to her.

* * *

Minako had been wondering the streets for some time now, slowly making her way home. With her back hunched over and her bag dragging carelessly across the floor, the young blonde turned yet another corner, bring on attention from a few people in her community. The nightwalkers, as she liked to call them, smiled warmly at the high school star, only to be received with a forced grin. No one knew of the turmoil that was currently running amuck in the child and no one dared to ask. There was one incident when the normally happy teen nearly bite of the ear of the paperboy, all because he asked if she was ok. Her parents dubbed it a phase in life, a change she was going through as she prepared to end her high school life and move onto others things. Her counselor said it was stress and other factors playing to her crummy mood. She would scoff at each suggestion, knowing exactly, why she acted the way she did. She knew why each and every one of her friends changed and acted the way they did. 

She knew why Ami had become quieter then normal, voicing her opinion only when asked. She knew why Makoto had spent more time at home, instead of cruising the café and arcades in search of a future sweetheart. She even knew why Usagi had spent more time at Ami's house, studying instead of eating and playing around like she normally did. Everyone in their little clique changed, from the ever elusive Ami Mizuno, straight down to straight forward, blunt Haruka Ten'ou. Of course, not all the changes were as dramatic as some, a few weren't even noticeable, but she knew it was there.

Minako turned into a clean-cut yard, kicking a stray pebble back into the flowerbed. Her eyes slowly moved from the ground, up to the open door where her mother stood, hands crossed and ready for an explanation. The young blonde crystal blue eyes cut sharply at her mom, daring her to speak one syllable. The older woman reeled back in shock, quite stunned by her daughters dark attitude and instead of scolding her for coming in so late, she stepped aside and allowed the girl safe passage. Watching from the still open door, Minako's mother stood helpless as a head full of blonde hair, bounced heavily up the stairs. She cringed when she heard a door slam and knew it would be unwise to ask anything of her daughter right now, well or bad.

When she had slammed her door closed, she wasn't surprised at all to see her white feline jump up. He quickly calmed down after seeing his so-called 'owner' drop her bag on the floor and slowly cross the room. Her huge white bed was calling out to her, begging for her to lay down it. She willingly caved in and curled up on a stray pillow, resting at the foot of the bed. Minako stayed like that for a while, and then she turned on her back and stared at the ceiling.

"You know Mina, we could always talk about it." The white cat said as it crawled to the bottom of the bed and sat down on the pillow. He watched as the girl rolled her eyes, glaring at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"What good will talking do?"

"Well…it could help you come to terms with everything."

"Artemis, every single time I think about what happened, I start doubting the truth." Minako said still staring at the ceiling, her voice strained of every emotion except pain and anger. She had long since abandoned her playful nature and now found peace in being alone with her crazed and jumbled thoughts.

"Doubting the truth, Mina what do you mean by that?"

"It's hard to watch your best friend disappear right before your very eyes. I mean, it was so unexpected. They say it couldn't be helped but I wonder… had it been Usagi or maybe even Mamoru, could we have done something different? Why was it so important to send Rei away, I mean couldn't we have worked it out? Did Setsuna have to send her away?"

"I get what you mean…but you have to try and understand that Setsuna doesn't do things like that just because she wants to, and I don't believe that she would send away a Senshi just because of some petty argument she had with the Princess." Artemis said in the Time Senshi defense. He knew a time like this would come, it was obvious that the past events would have been questioned. To bad he had not thought of a way to calm his young friend.

"Then why would she do it, do you know anything?"

"I'm just as lost as you are." Artemis said trying to stop the girl from cutting off his circulation. She had grabbed hold of him tightly when he tried to defend Setsuna, now he was currently in a predicament where he needed someone to come to his defense. "Try and cheer up, do you think Rei would be acting this way had it been one of you guys gone instead of her."

"What would Rei be doing? I couldn't possibly tell you what she would be doing. One minute we're walking through the mall laughing and joking around and then the very next day were fighting each other. No one could ever tell what was goes on in her mind. I just never thought killing the Princess was even a thought."

"It seems like you're giving up rather easy."

"You know…while we were walking home from the mall a while back, she said something…strange. She said that every best friend started off a stranger. It was out of the blue, from nowhere."

"What does it mean?" Artemis interrupted, but Minako continued as if she never heard him.

"And right before we parted ways at the park's cross section, she told me that there are some battles that you can't pick or choose to fight. She told me that everyone would eventually face a battle that is mandatory for him or her to follow through. Artemis, she was always the one who figured out those types of riddles. I mean her whole life practically swarmed around the whole mysterious, say one thing and mean another attitude. How the hell am I going to know what that means?" Minako was shaking and on the verge of tears as she relayed the information to Artemis. It had been a long and trying time for everyone, the past few months had only seemed to be deepening the funk each person was in. All they could do was wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. There nothing more they could do. The white cat looked on helplessly as the girl buried her face into her pillow. Feeling that now would be a good time for Minako to get some rest, Artemis jumped off the bed and hopped onto the window.

"Why don't you go to sleep, you had a long day and talking like this isn't going to help any. I promise we'll talk about everything a little later, just get some rest." He watched as Minako nodded her head, and sat up on the bed. She removed her shoes and socks and threw them on the floor. She pulled the quilt back and hopped into bed. Sleep was quick to take over her body as she was whispered reassuring remarks from her feline guardian.

YAY ME! I did it, I finally posted it. I stayed up all night writing this one and hope those who liked the first one likes this as well. And to those who didn't like the first one then...hope you like this one. So I guess I have to say so...Read and Review, Thankies!


	2. Chapter 2

::Sigh:: So how long has it been? A real long time I presume…but anyways life is hectic and, I updated right? Especially when I said that I wouldn't. It took a while, but here it is. So this chapter takes place where the other left off. (Duh!) Rei woke up and Heero's giving her breakfast. Ummm…I guess there's not much to say but THANKS!!!! To everyone who reviewed the first chapter, it was really appreciated. So on with the fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the ever popular series Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon

* * *

All she could do was sit on the bed and glare at her plate as she awaited Heero's next course of action. The young man made no move to sit and stay, nor did he give any indication that he would leave either. So for the time being, all she felt compelled to do was stare at her plate, pushing her hunger back in hopes of avoiding eating in front of him. Rei sighed inwardly as the warmth from the plate sank down into her lap. Heero's quilt had long since been abandoned at the foot of the bed and she rested comfortably with the long t- shirt that had been provided. To say the least, she wasn't in a bad position at all. Compared to her former way of living, a bed this cozy and a meal this rich could only be thought up in dreams as of late. But such a wonderful thing was only ruined by the annoyance that stood silently by her side, his action unreadable. 

"Eat." The young woman cringed visibly as she tensed up at the sound of his voice. As much as she wanted to do what he had said, his presence was making it all the more difficult. Had this been two weeks ago when she was on the verge of ending her pitiful existence, she would have eaten in front of him. But today was different. A rare feeling of hope filled Rei's body and for the life of her, she just couldn't place it or where it was originating. All she knew was her awareness of Heero's critical eye was upon her and her sense of pride and a faint dash of arrogance filled her to the brim. For some reason, she didn't feel like crumbling to his helping hand and jumping at his every command. If he wanted her to eat, then he would have to rectify his self.

But just then, a sharp pain erupted in her side. While she was able to keep that pain from reaching her face, she knew that if it were to happen a second time, Heero would know for sure and definitely force her to eat. Her stomach was well aware of the offering on her lap and wanted badly to have at it, but her mind had completely taken over.

Rei sighed heavily to herself as she looked at the food on her plate. Her amethyst eyes roamed over the hearty meal and she couldn't help but notice how generous Heero was with his portions. And while she was overly grateful for the food, the manner in which he presented it couldn't have been any more disheartening. He spoke to her as if she were a child incapable of following orders to the point where he had to simplify them to one word commands. 'Eat', 'Get up', she wasn't a dog and needn't be treated like one. But the thing that really dug deep into her skin was the fact the she had done what he said every time.

Even more so when she purposely began nibbling on the syrup soaked waffle that sat on her fork. Rei sighed mentally as the food made contact with her taste buds and filled her mouth with a welcoming tingling sensation. It was her first bite and she already knew that she would most likely clean her plate. While she was never one to over indulged, the thought of leaving some food left over appeared in her mind as a complete sin. Knowing that she would punish herself later, Rei made an effort to ignore Heero and get through the plate that was lying before her.

The taste was bittersweet. On the one hand, she was happy to have it, but then it meant that she was indebted to the rude solider that she had been spending time with. Dropping the silver fork into the eggs, Rei scooped up some of the yellow fluff and quickly placed it in her mouth. It felt so good to savor the wonderful taste. She had neglected her stomach for so long, denying it the nutrition that it so badly needed. Many times she had skipped meals without a second thought, convincing herself that she wasn't hungry and didn't need to eat. But that was all coming back to haunt her as her stomach growled loudly, sending a sharp pain through her abdomen once again. _Right, Right…stop thinking and eat…got it!_ Rei thought as she glared at her lap.

Heero watched as Rei went through so many facial expressions, with each one aimed at the food on her plate. It wasn't hard to see why some people thought she was nuts. The girl could turn a lot of heads with her odd behavior and didn't seem to mind at all. But still...it was his duty to see to it that her odd behavior didn't bring about any harm to her self, or anyone else for that matter.

"You'll choke if you eat to fast." Rei looked from her plate and frowned. There he was again treating her like some little kid.

"That would be very unfortunate, wouldn't it? Something to drink would be nice…incase such a thing does happen."

Sarcasm. It was rarely heard from her mouth and the sickeningly sweet smile on her lips made ignoring the hidden request extremely hard. He wanted to deny her, to stay in the room and make sure she had eaten everything on her plate. But the dangerous glint that suddenly taken shelter in her amethyst eyes was much to compelling, if only for the simple fact…it wasn't supposed to be there.

She was supposed to be red in the eyes after the nights she spent crying in her sleep. Her face was supposed to have a faraway, distant look to it. She wasn't supposed to so sharp-tongued, making demands for something that he wasn't obligated to give her. What was it about this girl that always keeps him on his toes?

Rei watched Heero quietly leave the room, mostly likely to get her something to drink. It felt good to see Heero do as she say instead of jumping at his every word.

There was just something in the air that made her giddy. A feeling that she didn't often used to describe her moods, but it was clearly there and she honestly felt like she was finally in control of her person.

"Mentality over emotions." Rei said loudly, the words ringing very true in her situation. It was an approach to life that had got her through a lot of drama and saved her grief and heartache. This situation would be no different.

Looking down at the plate, Rei sighed as she already eaten practically everything. Carefully she pushed the plate away, hoping to kill off any impression of her being greedy. That silly thing known as pride was getting the best of her. But once again, her stomach protested loudly and painfully and she was forced succumb to the dominating organ. Without anymore hesitation, she used her fork to slowly cut into the French toast on her plate. The warm syrup dripped down the gash as she lifted the piece to her mouth. Amazing, truly amazing. To say she was in heaven would be an understatement. She was in a place much better then that, if such a place really existed. There wasn't anything that could possibly break her from this perfection.

* * *

Heero growled lightly as he hung up the phone, the conversation not going exactly how he would have liked. All his questions were answered with more questions and his words completely ignored. The woman had hated him. That could be the only explanation to his problem. She simply hated him and wanted to make his life a living hell. 

"_Oh! Heero, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon. Are you about to leave?" The woman seemed startled to see his face on the screen, which quickly put him on high alert. She was never taken by surprise. A zombie could bust out the walls with a semi-automatic pointed to her head and she still wouldn't be startled. It was odd seeing the woman force herself to gain composure, all the while speaking in a very authority filled voice. _

_Mentally taking a quick note, Heero took a deep breath before opening his mouth. _

"_Not yet, Rei hasn't finished eating breakfast." _

"_I thought you said she wasn't feeling to good. Has she gotten any better?" There was something in her tone that further enforced his suspicions of there being something wrong. The woman had introduced herself as a close friend of Rei's and the tone of her voice were saying otherwise. There was no room for concern in her hardened breath, as if she cared very little for the teen eating in his room. _

"_She's fine." The woman looked like she was about to say something, but Heero lifted his hand in the air, silencing any words that were to leave her mouth. "It seemed that she had gain some kind of cold after the incident at the park, or she was suffering from a ailment before hand. Now, she's fine. She's eating more then I expected and she's a lot more lively then what you'd expect from someone who just awoken from a three day's sleep." _

"_You don't say…perhaps it's too soon for her to travel. From your last report, she isn't in the best psychical shape and we don't want her getting hurt. Tell me, has her thinning gotten any worse." _

"_She's fine." Heero said, his voice dry and his facial expression without emotion. He watched her bare her white teeth as she twisted her dark red lips into a smile. The woman truly looked like she was gaining some kind of amusement from all this. Her careless frown was quickly replaced by a small smirk and her stance relaxed considerably. Just what was her game any way? Had she any concern for the so-called friend under distress. _

"_So it doesn't look like she has been starving herself for the last three hundred years?" His answer came in the form of a steely glare. He had answered her question once; there was no need to do it again. "I guess it was a good thing that Qature allowed you stay in his home near Mars." It was nothing more then a mere whisper, but he heard it. Part of it came from watching her lips and it's every movement, something he found himself doing with people when they talked. It was a habit he picked up after having to lip-read on many occasions. _

"_What does the location of our stay have to do with anything?" _

"_Did you get the package I sent you?" She asked as if he had never spoken. Weaving her hand mindlessly through her dark green hair, she grilled Heero with her stern garnet eyes. _

"_Yes." He could feel the muscle in his eye twitch. A smile on her face meant stress in his life. Although he had made a living following orders and constantly putting his life on the line, never had he met someone who could make him regret his years of service so easily. The beauty before him was doing quite well in accomplishing that feat. _

"_How long has she been up?" The woman tilted her head to the side and stared at him with cold eyes, all the while a smile beaming on her face. For a second, Rei's face popped up in his head. Many times he had watched as she forced a smile to appease a stranger asking for the time or something. Even though her lips were happy, her eyes were just as cold and resentful as they were to this day. Heero was pushed out of his thoughts when he heard the woman clear her throat, forcing him to focus on her serious face and her recently asked question. _

"_She's been up for about an hour." The woman nodded her head as she took in the information. Her silence was like an Okay and he acted upon it with a question of his own. "Are you going to have her checked out by the Doctor when we come?" _

"_Has she mentioned any names?" It took everything in Heero's power not to yell at her. She was ignoring the questions that he asked, listening to only what she wanted to hear. He was done talking about Rei. Going through the woman to figure out how the younger girl recovered so fast was getting him nowhere. _

"_We'll be arriving at your place soon Ms. Meioh…until then." Not bothering to wait for a response, Heero broke the link they had shared, hanging up the phone and relaxing at the sight of a blank screen. The last thing he wanted to do was continue the one way conversation they were having, considering the fact that his purpose of calling in the first place was let unfulfilled. _

* * *

The woman smiled at the old man sitting in front of her, his wrinkled hand pouring more dark red liquid in her cup. She nodded her head in appreciation before lifting the plain brown wood to her lips and sipping slowly on the hot drink. Her sparkling blue eyes roamed over his small stature and she couldn't help but feel a sense of pity wash over her. Gently placing the cup back down on the table, she cleared her throat, gaining the attention of a tired looking soul. 

"It's been really nice talking with you, but I'm afraid I have to go." She smiled ruefully at him as she lifted her hand to run through her short sandy blonde hair.

"Haruka Ten'oh." He laughed gently as the name rolled off his tongue. "I remember the first time I heard about you. My granddaughter couldn't stop talking about how much she hated you…of course she was always mumbling when she said it." Haruka smirked at the old man's remark, the thought of the bold female speaking horrible things about her not hard to believe. A bitter laugh escaped her lips and she was forced to think of the qualities that made up the enigmatic child.

"I'm not surprised in the least bit, she was never afraid to speak her mind."

"No, she wasn't." The old man laughed, though his happiness soon faded and was replaced with a forlorn glare. "I hope she doesn't regret her decision to move…she would have made a wonderful caretaker in my stead."

"When you think you know a person..." Haruka mumbled softly, her light blue eyes digging into her abandon cup as the man's fallen voice reached her ears.

"I'm just glad that you were here to help this old bag of bones out. I don't know what would have become of me if you hadn't chased all those squirrels away when you did." Her laugh was warm and sincere, something she couldn't object to, even if the person she was talking was the blood of her now sworn enemy.

* * *

There was something off about the atmosphere. It was different from what she had grown accustomed to…but it was more then welcomed. 

"I feel better then I've ever did in my whole entire lifetime." Rei grinned at her plate, remembering something that an old friend had once told her. "…indescribable…" She wanted to laugh. The turn of events in her life was something that could only have been thought up in a dream. It started out perfect, then slowly went down hill for the worst, but now it felt like her past didn't matter at all and the people it once held in it was long forgotten. She was in an unnatural state of mirth and that could only be ruined by one thing right now.

Shaking her head, Rei watched the door intently as that one thing made his way towards the room. He opened the door without care, slamming it gently against the wall. A smirk appeared on Rei's features, as her sense of perception had not been wrong.

"Here I was thinking I had lost it." Blue met purple with two different expressions washing over each color. While Heero glared at the glowing girl and her offhanded comment, Rei stared innocently at her companion, waiting for him to move.

When it seemed that the staring was going no where, Heero moved to the bed and held out a glass filled with a purple liquid. He silently shoved it in her face, assuming that she would take the most obvious of hints. Instead, Rei stared at the cup for a while, trying to figure out what might be in there, but the glare on Heero's face showed little patience for inspection.

"It's grape juice."

"For breakfast." Rei questioned as she rose an eyebrow.

"Drink it." He ordered, pushing it closer to her face. Taking the cup in her slender hands, Rei forcefully pulled it out of Heero's grip, spilling some out on his blanket. Ignoring the destruction of his property, the smile-less soldier sat down next to her. She glared at him, noting how close he was sitting, but he seemed oblivious to the fact, his eyes trained on the steel hamper across the room. Silence filled the modest size room, leaving the two occupants searching for some kind of opening to break the awkwardness. Rei sipped on her juice, not sure that she wanted to pig out in front of the seemly proper male. The food that once seemed so gorgeous in her eyes was now the enemy and she no longer wanted to praise the delicious meal. With a sigh, she gently shoved the plate onto the man's lap and chugged down the rest of the purple liquid that swirled around in her cup. Heero looked up at the girl, not sure how to make out her lack of appetite. She hadn't eaten in the last couples of days, and when she did decided to eat, she had failed to eat everything. Maybe she was just sick and couldn't handle so much on her over active system. Or maybe she just needed some time to adjust to the foreign object known as food.

"I'm full." Rei stated, as she glared at Heero. She was more then sure of what thoughts were running through his head and wanted to squash the possibility of being sent to the hospital because of a assumption of her having a disorder or the like. But he brushed her off like he always did and paid no heed to her words. Pushing the plate back on her lap, he glared at her, knowing that he could return her stubbornness with just as much force.

"You don't honestly expect me to believe that, do you?"

"I don't care what you believe. I said I was full and I'm not eating anymore." Heero shook his head, allowing his gaze to fall on the plate that was pushed back over to him. When he had first fixed the plate, his mind was set on something light. He had stacked up a few slices of toast with a little bit of eggs knowing that she wouldn't be able to eat but so much. But then he remembered the times when he was forced to fast for days. He had taken in as much food as his stomach would allow, eating a lot more then he usual did once that starvation period was over. This girl was no different. The last time she had eaten, to his knowledge, was four days ago. Even then, he was almost pushed to force feed her. Now, the young soldier was sure she would eat everything on the plate. With the food right under her nose, there was no way she could possible resist. But of course, she had managed to surprise him with more of her crazy acts.

_Is she trying to starve herself on purpose or is she really not hungry? _His silent question was answered when a muffled gurgling sound filled the area. Rei quickly grabbed her stomach, hoping to keep the sound from leaving her body. Like the traitor it was, her stomach growled much louder, letting everyone know that it meant business.

"Eat." The embarrassed girl couldn't help but take the plate from his grasp and began eating. As she pushed the fork into her mouth, Heero spotted the blushed that formed on her face, though he was sure she was trying to use her long dark hair to shield her embarrassment.

She kept her face down, her eyes glued to the plate. Rei knew that if she looked up, she would she Heero and the smug expression on his face. There was no way in hell she was going to admit that he was right, even if she was terrible, horribly wrong. It seemed like she was messing up a lot lately, finding that decisions she made were completely off and his right on target. There was always a battle between the two. Most of the time, it was Heero trying to get her out of the broke down apartment and into the sun. Or there was Heero trying to get her to eat. Sometimes it was Heero trying to get her to go to the gym and work out, claiming that exercise was to important of a thing for her to pass up. As she scooped up the last of the eggs and begun lifting them to her mouth, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with his dark eyes staring at her. Heero and herself had been spending a lot of time together. Their relationship was to formal for them to be friends, but they were too relaxed around each other to be considered anything else.

There were times where Heero would say and do things that would piss her off to the point where she would sit in the corner of her room in silence, to upset to do anything else. Normally she could finds words to place with these emotions, but living the way she was and communicating with a person like him left her a little unraveled. Of course there were times when she would do her fair share in angering the stoic male, like the time she locked him out of her apartment with all his stuff still inside. After he picked the lock and forced his way through, the young man spoke a few choice words to her and quickly left. Heero was always walking out on her, but it seemed that no matter what had caused him to do so, he was back the very next day, acting as if nothing happened.

Looking up at the subject of her thoughts, Rei locked eyes with Heero's Prussian blues and immediately wanted to scream. Instead, the young girl stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth, moving her angry gaze else where in the room. _Why is he so annoying? _

Heero Yuy didn't seem like the type of person to make friends. Many times Rei had envisioned the young man in grade school, sitting alone in the back of the classroom while all the other little boys laughed and played amongst themselves. She was often moved with pity when thoughts like this crossed her mind, for it was no more then four years ago when she was in the same predicament. Her attitude would change, giving the young man a little less ice, but then he would open his mouth and remind Rei why he was friendless. He was rude, demanding and acted as if he was superior then her. Needless to say, more times then often, they'd ended up clashing. Whenever she tried to be nice to him, he would completely blow her off and be just as cold hearted as usual. But of course, he never saw fault in himself and could never take a hint. He was just Mr. Perfect. Everything he said was perfect, everything he did was perfect, and everything he wore was perfect, everything he thought was perfect and everything he cooked was perfect. Rei stopped suddenly, her eyes locked onto her plate. Slowly she lifted her head up to look at Heero. He looked back at her, wondering exactly what it was that had rattled the neurotic teen this time.

"If you could cook, then why did we waste so much money dining out?" Her eyebrows had drawn together and her lips were twisted into a frown. All the money spent at the restaurants could have been put towards her crummy apartment or something of the likes. Turning back to look straight ahead, Heero did what he was known for doing when she said something and he didn't feel like responding to.

"Eat." He commanded once more, blowing her off completely. The young girl dropped her eyes back on the plate and mindless dragged her fork against the beautiful looking china.

"Did your girlfriend cook?" She asked, hoping to get more from the silent brunette then his routine one-word responses. Heero wasn't deaf; he wasn't quiet and he sure as hell wasn't shy. The young man never hesitated to tell her off and when she was uncooperative, he had more times then often forcefully got his point across. But he seemed a little different today and Rei knew deep down that some how this affected her. Lifting her head, she raised a questioning brow and leaned forward. "Did your boyfriend cook?" She smiled inwardly as he turned his head to look at her, his face a set mask of irritation.

"Eat." Was all he spit out, his voice a dangerous whisper.

"Maybe you should expand you're vocabulary…just a tiny bit." The dryness of her voice was more like her original self, but of course, it was nothing Heero wanted to deal with.

"Just do what you're told and eat."

"Jerk." The young girl mouthed as she turned back to her plate. Although she felt much more alive, if it weren't for the fact that she was still in pretty bad physical shape, then she would set upon the angry man a lashing he would have never forgotten. But as it stood, Heero was more then equipped to take her down and it scared her just a little, knowing that he wouldn't hesitate to do so. The man was hard and cold, but kind and gentle. When they first met, he had been very respectful and helped her out when she was faced with a couple of 'bullies' on the street. She hadn't asked for the help and she was sure she could have taken them on, but Heero put his self out there anyway. He was even there when she fell completely from grace, losing her job and constantly losing hope in a happy future. The only time their days with each other ever took a drastic turn for the worse was when Heero pulled his gun on her.

She had awoken one morning in a real bad mood. Work had been killing her, her bills were pilling up and she was going through headache after headache, never finding an aliment for the pain. Heero had just come and was trying his version of 'gently' coaxing her into eating breakfast. He had become quite the fixture in her broke down home, and while his presence was welcomed, he was starting to annoy her. He made comments about her physical shape and her carelessness. Normally, that did little to bother her, but for some reason, she snapped and sent her fist fly against his face. Though he had stopped her from making contact, she later found herself lying on the floor while staring down the barrel of his gun.

Rei couldn't help the grin that tugged at her lips. The memory filled her mind like it just happened yesterday, sending a wave of fear through her, but she knew deep down that Heero was never one to take his anger out on others. Normally he was composed and it took a lot to shake him up, but when she had managed to break his barrier of control, Heero always found a way to change his rule book for her. At first she thought it odd that a perfect stranger, one she later found out was a soldier, would stick with her and visit her almost everyday. But as the days went by, it mattered not and time after time she welcomed the cold brute into her life and constantly feared when she would lose yet another friend.

Friend.

When did Heero become a friend? Rei sighed at the thought, the loud release of breath drawing the attention of the brunette next to her. But she ignored him. He had already been dubbed a jerk and she would dwell on it no longer, now placing food as more important then him.

Heero watched as she slowly stuffed the food in her mouth; her face set in concentration. She was very beautiful, that much he couldn't deny, but she was odd. If not for a promise he made to a very important person, then Rei would be yet another forgotten he passed along the street. He was playing guardian angel, making sure she lived to see another day. But there was no doubt that the young one was playing on his patience. Not even Relena, a woman who was bent on assimilating him into her happy world, bothered him as much as she did. Either Rei was uncooperative and disagreeable or she was the silently disturbed creature who was hearing voices that curled her emaciated body into a little ball.

Suddenly his mood shifted. The thought of that emaciated little ball no more then a couple of days ago filled his mind and he couldn't help the frown on his lips. Her skin was pale and he could clearly see the outline of her ribs. Her arms were thin and her legs looked brittle, the thought of snapping them by accident was clearly running through his mind. But, as he sat staring her in the face, he noticed that she didn't hold that pasty look any more. Her face had retained some color and her cheeks were full. The young man shook his head, opting to blame that on the food she was stuffing in her mouth and the needed rest she got over the last two days.

But she wasn't the same person that he brought in. Rei was a lot livelier then before and she physically looked better. She was a lot plumper and more her original self. Reaching up his hand, Heero gently dragged it across her cheeks, pulling back only when she moved to stab his intruding hand with her fork. That's when the change became more noticeable.

Her glare was as fiery as when he had first ever seen it. Her once dull and tired eyes were now bright and watchful, something that he had notice upon there first meet. Had sleep been that great of a remedy?

Pushing aside that almost instinctive need to investigate on his own, Heero knew that he would just have to trust the words of women whom was just as much a bother as Rei. From the looks of things…he wasn't going to get an answer anytime soon, especially not from the dark haired teen on his bed.

* * *

Minako hummed to herself as she swung back and forth on the swing. A smile graced her face, letting that natural blonde beauty shine through. Today was no ordinary day. For some strange reason, she awoke feeling more alive. There was a feeling of dread linger in the morning sun that shone through her window, but the feeling of a coming joy overpowered the bad and pushed her into a good mood. She couldn't find the words to explain it. All she could do was offer her parents a bright smile and to Artemis, the most concerned of them all, a wink and a playful flash of her trademark V. 

Cornflower blue eyes roamed over the park and took in all the happy children and parents. It was then that her anticipation of great joys to come soared to new heights. By the slide stood a group of five girls, each one reminding her of the former friends in her life. Though it was two in particular that really caught her eye.

* * *

The room had remained in complete silence as Haruka sipped slowly on her tea. As much as she swore to herself that she would soon leave, each time, a wave of pity washed over her and she couldn't bring herself to budge from her spot. The old man in front of her looked broken in so many ways, and it angered her that the one person that he loved with all his heart didn't care in the least bit. Grandpa Hino was so convinced that his beloved Granddaughter had moved across country to pursue other activities, a lie that was flawlessly thought up by the Prince of Earth. At first, the lie sounded stupid and unbelievable, but the old man accepted it without question. 

"Maybe he knows…" Haruka sighed as she stared at the brown liquid in her cup.

"Maybe who knows?"

"Oh…I'm sorry, just thinking to myself…obviously out loud." He laughed. It was something that he did quite often. To her, it sounded forced and didn't hold that warmth that normally accompained the gleeful old man. His only grandchild just left him alone, what more could he possibly be happy about?

* * *

"I need a bath." Rei whispered to herself. There was no better way to end that wonderful meal then to have a nice long soak in that tub she saw earlier. Heero already did so much…could she be so bold as to ask for more? The young girl sat up on the bed and gave Heero a pointed look. 

"What?" He asked, unaware of one of the very special qualities that made up his newly acquired roomy.

"I'll be using your bathroom to wash up, so you'll have to get me some clean clothes." The demanding tone and equally demanding look was enough to give him a tiny shock. While she had asked for things in the past, she had never done so with so much fierceness in her eyes where he was left with no other choice but to comply. For a woman her age and stature, Rei did make up for quite a scary sight, but he wasn't easily intimidated, especially by someone three fourth his size.

Heero stood up, standing straight and proud, like one would do in a show of exerting authority. His icy blue eyes roamed over the figure that had taken over his bed and now was demanding his bathroom. He wouldn't deny her a bath, more so out of common courtesy then being scared, but her drastic change in attitude had been a little bit hard to swallow.

At one point, no more then four days ago, Rei had been indecisive and unable to carry her own weight. But now she was flaunting a more fuller figure and a somewhat vicious attitude to boot. He had not done anything medically relevant to her quick recovery. As far as he was concerned, she was human and the thought of her being something outside of that realm seemed, in the least bit, an idiotic thing to consider. But what could bring on such a dramatic before and after?

"If paying attention is to hard for you, I'll talk a little slower."

She had expected him to snap at her or glare or something….anything other then stare blankly at the wall across from her with a frown. She could tell he had heard her, for he grunted softly, but made no indication that he cared for her words…or her presence for that matter.

He had been silent for some time now and Rei was beginning to get worried. But what could she do? He had never zoned out like that before and when dealing with someone as dangerous as Heero, approaching head on would be like signing your suicide note. With a shudder, Rei noted that a careful tread would be more benefiting for her health.

Slowly she pushed herself off the side of the bed, watching Heero as his eyes flicked over to her and quickly went back to the wall.

_Such dismissive behavior is unbecoming of a soldier. _The words played brutally in her mind, not happy with the lack of attention he held. With all the jagged stories he had told her, there was no doubt in her mind that he had been the perfect soldier, but finally seeing him in action was leaving her with doubts.

But of course he was in no real danger and had no reason to be as edgy as Rei would have wanted, but still….

Grabbing hold of the edge of the bed, Rei stood up quickly, never minding how readily her body took to resting after feasting on the large meal. A huge wave of dizziness hit and her legs buckled under all the unbalanced weight. Before she had a chance to grope for balance, she found her self not tumbling backwards, but forward and rushing towards the floor.

The graceful fall landed the young girl roughly on her knees, biting her lip to contain the pain within. Her amethyst eyes opened slowly as a salty taste filled her mouth along with a burning sensation on her tongue. She pushed her tongue out and dropped her gaze to the little red thing that stiffly stuck out from under her nose. Blood…she was bleeding…

Shakily, Rei touched the wounded flesh and stared at her bright red fingers but no matter how hard she tried, focusing on the matter at hand was hard. The image of Heero kneeling next to her was as clear as day, but he was speaking silent words. She could see the blood on her fingers, but she couldn't bring herself to any emotions to link with it. It was like her body was there but her mind was in a totally different place.

"_Usagi, don't cry…please." It was all she could do to comfort the bright haired blonde on her lap. The warm embrace and just being there wasn't enough. She knew that her friend, her love, her life…she needed to hear the reassurance. She needed to hear that her rock was there for her, even if it wasn't._

"_Tell them it's a mistake…it's all a big mistake. You didn't mean it. Tell them." Sighing tiredly, the soldier known as Mars, pushed her friend away with a blank expression on her face. The scene alone was enough to move anyone to tears, but her eyes remained dry through it all. _

"_Don't cry." She whispered as she held her friend at arms distance. "The unexpected has a funny way of sneaking up on ya, huh Sailor Moon." Leaning over, she place a soft kiss on the side of the blonde's teary face. _

"_Just te--" Before the Moon Princess was able to finish her thought, a searing pain shot through her side and she screamed out loudly. _

"_And so the show begins." Turning her back on the fallen beauty, she smiled impenitently at a group of six similarly dressed woman, all with a look of horror on their faces. _

She felt warm and fuzzy inside, a feeling that was never common with her. Warm and fuzzy to her, wasn't like what others would consider it. Warm and fuzzy in her world, meant nothing more then pain and suffering. When she felt like that then she was either receiving a vision of doom for the near future, or she was sensing some kind of evil, or she was going through something that was making her want to cry. Warm and fuzzy wasn't a good thing.

"…Us..a..gi...?" Heero tasted the name on his tongue, the very essence ringing familiarity in his head. Looking intensely at Rei, but not at her, he tired it out again. It was obvious by the way his charge reacted to him, she had not found much favor in the name. Her lips twisted into a frown and her eyes darkened greatly. He knew had become angered by his actions, even more so when she lifted up her hand and slapped it hard across the face.

For a second, Heero just stared at her and Rei wasn't quite sure what to make of his out of character reaction. But as she opened her mouth to say something, Heero caught her on the side of her face, slapping his palm harshly across her cheek.

The two glared heatedly at each other. While Heero's glare remained strong and full of ice, Rei wavered constantly, her eyes fighting between pain and anger. Her body shock gently as tears welled up in her amethyst eyes. She knew she was overreacting about everything. She knew Heero was justified in hitting her back. She knew that she had no right hitting him for…for no reason exactly. She knew that the thoughts of death that was floating through her head was wrong. She also knew that the tears that was pouring down her face was conceived by no one but herself…but still…she snapped and she was allowed that moment on lost sanity to be upset.

"THAT HURT!!!" Without putting much thought into, Rei tackled Heero to the ground. With one hand holding tightly to a fistful of brown hair and the other, tightly onto his shirt, she struggled to hold onto the man that was quickly overpowering her.

She had tried so hard to forget the name that he spoke without so much as a care. As far as she was concerned, the name meant her destruction and nothing more. While it had once meant friendship, love and many promises that melted her heart, it now meant her living death. The short vision was bad enough as it is, did he really have to keep saying her name afterwards?

"Stop it." Heero growled as he rolled Rei onto her back and straddled her waist. He glared down at the struggling figure, returning her heat with just as much intensity. A huge voice in the back of his head was telling him to give her another swift knock on the head, but tears in her eyes was clearly keep his hands clamped tightly on her wrists.

Tears?

For the first time since they had started to go at it, he truly acknowledged the clear liquid that dripped out her eyes as she laid there and stared up at him. Slowly he softened the hold he had on her, not quite impressed by her sudden submissive nature to let go completely. The strained look on her face softened with his hold, and it was then that he realized that her tears were brought on from him. He had hurt her and that meant two things.

One. The woman who had put him in charge of watching Rei wasn't going to be to pleased with this turn of events. And two. He had failed a small portion of his mission by not letting harm fall upon her…for it was he himself who had hurt her.

With careful movements, he lifted one of her arms up for him to examine and found himself cursing lightly at the dark red marks that had already started taking on shades of purple on small areas if her wrist. This was wrong.

"Go get into the bath, I'll bring your stuff in shortly." While his voice had softened up, the glared on his face was just as hard as it started. Heero moved from over top of Rei and nodded his head towards the bathroom. He was a bit disappointed when Rei complied without a sound. A part of him was waiting for a insult to coming flying his way, letting him know that she'd overcome his mistreatment. He was sure it was going to come. She seemed to have a lot of smart mouthed comments as of late. But nothing came. He watched as she disappeared behind the wooden door, leaving the site of his confused blue eyes.

Had he known that taking care of Hino Rei was this difficult, he would have handed in his resignation papers long before the organization took on the new Commander.

* * *

So chapter two focused more on Rei…somewhat on Haruka but not that much on Minako. But don't worry, their part is coming up real soon! And I'm kinda thinking about throwing in another Senshi (or Past Villain!) to make Rei' s life a lot easier. ::Please note the sarcasm:: Let me remind you, the characters might seem a little out of character and I sincerely apologize for that, but they have been through a lot and once things start to cool down, they'll return to what we know and love. 

Next Chapter: Heero's meets the real Rei and Rei meets a real pain. The two are going to find a lot of things in common in terms of the people they associate with.


End file.
